Gadhafi Vows He Will Not Step Down, Will Die a Martyr in Libya

By Haaretz Service February 22, 2011

Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said Tuesday in a televised address that he will not step down from power and that he intends on staying in Libya.

Gadhafi vowed to fight protesters demanding his ouster and said that he does not intend on resigning or forfeiting power like other leaders have done, announcing that he intends on dying in Libya as a martyr.

Gadhafi said that the image of Libya is being distorted before the world, and described himself as a Bedouin warrior who brought glory to the Libyan people.

The night before amid the crackdown, a defiant Gadhafi appeared on state TV in the early hours Tuesday to show he was still in charge, brandishing a large umbrella and wearing a cap with fur ear flaps, and denying reports he had left the country.

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